Global Trade Forum 2010, co-sponsored by MOFCOM and OECD, was held in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, on October 14. Vice Minister of Commerce Jiang Yaoping and Vice Governor of Sichuan Huang Xiaoxiang attended the opening ceremony and delivered speech. About 200 representatives from over 40 countries and regions as well as international organizations were present. Heated discussions were focused on the issue of “globalization, comparative advantage and trade policies”. Chinese representatives were from the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, General Administration of Customs, General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine and relevant departments of Sichuan. Before the opening ceremony, Vice Minister Jiang and Vice Governor Huang met with OECD Deputy Secretary-General Boucher and other foreign guests.

Vice Minister Jiang pointed out in his speech that the international trade was vital for the world economic recovery, so we should watched out for the rise of the trade protectionism and firmly resist the trade protectionism in all forms. He also said that the development of China’s foreign trade persisted not in zero-sum game but in collaboration and benefit-sharing with other countries. China always adheres to open trade policies. The value of trade in goods in 2009 reached US$ I trillion, up by 92 times compared with US$10.9 billion in 1978.

The official cooperation between China and OECD began in 1995. The OECD was comprised of 34 members covering all developed countries. The GNP of all OECD members took up more than two thirds of the world GNP. Since 2001, the OECD began to hold the Global Trade Forum every year. And this year, it was held in China for the first time.